Ahrefs

KEEP IT

The value is the network, the data or the infrastructure. Keep paying.

A search-engine research toolset built on its own web crawl: backlinks, keyword volumes, competitor rankings and site audits from an index of the whole web.

Promptfree, for everyone, and the only version there is

You cannot build a web index. Build the part about your own site.

WHAT IS OFF THE TABLE
- Backlinks and keyword volumes come from a crawl of the whole web. There is no small version

WHAT YOU ALREADY HAVE FOR FREE
- Google Search Console gives you your own impressions, clicks and positions per query
- That is the same data for your site, from the source, at no cost

STACK
- The Search Console API, SQLite, one chart page

WHAT TO STORE
- One row per query per page per day: impressions, clicks, position
- Search Console keeps sixteen months. Storing it yourself keeps it forever, and that is the real reason to build this

WHAT TO LOOK AT
- Queries at position 5 to 15 with high impressions: the pages one improvement away from traffic

Include the API sync, the schema and that one query.

What you lose

A crawl of the entire web, which is the product and is not something anyone can build
Backlink data nobody else has, including links pointing at your competitors
Keyword volume estimates from clickstream data you cannot buy

If you would rather not build

Google Search Console, free and authoritative for your own site
Ubersuggest, for a cheaper research tool
Your own analytics, which you already have

The escape hatch

open source · no votes, no paid placement

Metabase

Charts over the Search Console data once you have archived it.

metabase/metabasefree · open source

Umami

First-party analytics for what happens after the click.

umami-software/umamifree · open source

Why this verdict

our own opinion · changed only by a person

12/100

Verdict no at 12, the lowest kind of case here. The index is the product. The useful build is archiving your own Search Console data past its sixteen-month window.

History

tracked since 10 Aug 2026 · nothing is ever overwritten

Interest · last 30 days

Nothing recorded yet. This chart fills in once the page has visitors, votes or prompt copies — it will not draw a flat line to look busy.

Questions about Ahrefs

answered from the record above

Is Ahrefs free?

No — the plan we track is $129 a month. Lite from around $129/month billed monthly, cheaper annually.

Can you replace Ahrefs by building your own?

KEEP IT. The value is the network, the data or the infrastructure. Keep paying. Replacement score 12 out of 100, build time longer than it saves. Read what you lose before you decide.

How much does Ahrefs cost?

$129 a month on Lite — $1,548 a year. Recorded 10 Aug 2026.

What do you lose by replacing Ahrefs?

A crawl of the entire web, which is the product and is not something anyone can build; Backlink data nobody else has, including links pointing at your competitors; Keyword volume estimates from clickstream data you cannot buy. If any of those carry weight for you, keep paying.

Is there an open-source alternative to Ahrefs?

Yes: Metabase, Umami. The prompt on this page is for when you want it your way instead.

Related entries

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